Reviews by JimmieFrisbee:

Smells like a beer strong in alcohol. Maybe hints of orange. Kind of stings the nose a bit.

Wow. Doesn't taste like any beer I've had before... reminds me of some candy that I can't quite place, or... something about it reminds me of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips, although there is nothing chocolately about this beer. A light bitterness, maybe a caramel-like flavor there too -- almost toffee-like, or something. I really can't place it. I swear you'll think I'm crazy but in the finish it really reminds of those chocolate chips, but without the chocolate. Can definitely feel the heat from the alcohol, too. Notsomuch getting anything from the hops, though.

Pretty thick mouthfeel, not too harshly carbonated. Drinkability on this one is low. Won't be going back for another after this one is finished. Don't know that I'd get this one again, in fact.

Overall, I'm confused by this beer. The smell didn't match up with the taste, and the taste to me is just perplexing. Doesn't taste like any beer I've had before. No date, or even a code, anywhere on the single bottle I bought from Wakefield Liquors... could be past its prime? Maybe "Double Down 002" means something, but I can't even find a website for the brewery. I guess I'll never know. Don't think I'll be going back for second try.

More User Reviews:

4/5 rDev +9.6%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My second time trying this beer was much better than the first,pours a lightlyly hazy gold/orange with a tight one finger white head.Vibrant hop aromas grapefruit and spruce mainly,big but not over the top flavors obviously the hops dominate but dont wreck your mouth.Citrusy like that of lemon and over ripe pineapple with just a small hint of pine but its not big,a lightly sweet caramel malt base shows itself more than alot of other beers of style.Just solid I think the 9.5% abv is pretty well hidden,I would have again.

Very good DIPA, on tap at The Cannery Row. Cloudy orange and Lacey. Big hops, hop aroma, fruity apricot , peach,citrus, and earthy. Good drinking for the style. Good Fall beer. Dry hop and toasted malt finish. Fuller mouthfeel with a good malting, caramel.

Appearance  This is a bright but indistinct orange in color with a beautiful buttery head that left lots of afterfoam on top of the liquid.

Smell  The rich caramel malts are truly doing double duty here. The hops are resiny and big but not sharp if that makes any sense. The orange aroma smells like freshly squeezed OJ thats been cooked and reduced down to a highly concentrated form.

Taste  The leafy hops are bigger at the taste and the pine fades a bit, but boy that malt sure does come on strong. The orange loses some of its sweetness but is roughly the same size as it was at the nose. You can get a small sense of booze here, too, which is unusual for the style.

Mouthfeel  This is on the heavier side of medium-bodied with a light smack of booze on the lips. Its slick in between the cheeks.

Drinkability  I bought a four-pack and am hiding the other three right after I post this review.

Double Imperial IPAs seem to be a long-running fad gone standard for many American brewers. Soon we'll be able to say "Everyone and their mom brews a Double IPA!" Not a bad thing, right?

Clear, slightly pale, copper color. Enough foam to grab your attention, and enough retention to stick around for most of the session. Fresh, grassy hop aroma, light tropical fruit from the alcohol, and a shortbread maltiness in the nose. Sufﬁcing smoothness struggles to support the full body. Lots of hop ﬂavor and a thick but dull bitterness comes through. Alcohol shows a good amount of heat--almost unmanageable--but after a few sips numbs the mouth. Pale, biscuity malt ﬂavor battles with the hops and alcohol to be noticed. Finishes quite bitter, with a mix of heat from the alcohol and hops.

Someone needs to tame the alcohol on this beast. It's a decent stab at the style, but it's off balance--hardly a contender within its class. Chuck something spicy at this one. Atomic chicken wings would be a good call.

The eyes on the label are following me...deep red orange pour with good clarity and a half inch of foam on top that sticks to the side of the glass. Aromas kick off with sweet, caramel background that is overtaken by a cavalcade of earthy, piney, resinous hops. A good deal of honey accents with floral notes as well. Even a bit peppery.

First sip brings sweet malts upfront with caramel and honey accents. Earthy, resinous hops move in with a good deal of pine flavor as well. Peppery bitterness kicks in on the way down but the sweetness still prevails. Lingering hop tones on the back of the palate. Tasty.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a good sturdy maltiness that unfortunately leads to a bit too much sweetness overall for me as well. A pretty tasty double IPA but I couldn't drink more than one or possibly two in a sitting.

My favorite aspect of this beer was the smell. Lovely, lovely floral goodness all over the place. Aromatherapy via beer. Ahh.

You wouldn't know this is anything special from observing it in a glass, as my friend HiGravity said "it looks like Bud." Average, smaller head too.

The taste isn't quite the kick-in-the-ass you would be thinking. This is an incredibly smooth beer - especially for being 9 1/2 %. Extremely well-disguised alcohol. You really can't taste it like you would expect.

Mouthfeel: Well, like most double IPAs/Imperial IPAs, this is a "drymouth" beer. You will be thirsty after this one, and not for another beer. You'll need water for your cottonmouth.

I don't know how many of these your average craftbrew drinker could handle in one session - it is a sneaky, dehydrating beer that creeps up on you. But I mean all these comments in the most flattering light. Highly recommended for the hop enthusiast.

Pours an ever so slightly hazy bright golden with a creamy white head that retains remarkably well. Aroma is of citrusy, piney, and grassy hops. Some tropical fruit aromas are present as well. Flavor is very juicy backed up with a biscuity malt backbone. Piney, very juicy and citrusy, clementines, pineapples, maybe even some papaya with a lingering bitter finish and a slight warming sensation. Mouthfeel is is medium bodied with a semi-dry finish. Extremely drinkable and very tasty DIPA from Speakeasy Brewery.

$6.99 for a bomber from DeCiccos in Ardsley, NY. Pours near clear, orangydull amber, under a lasting medium khaki head, that leaves better then average and quite ample fluffy sheeting and lace. Minty, herbal nose. Pleasant DIPA, packs a respectable hop wollop, seems minty again, with lesser notes of oily, piney hops. Not super large malt wise or body wise. Respectable if not amazing DIPA. Locks real hop interest and overall appeal. Basically this stuff costs the same as Stone Ruination, I would go for Ruination every time.

Courtesy of a very generous WaffleSauce...
Semi cloudy...pale copper in color with a full finger of white head.
Wears away to just a thin layer, but leaves behind some thin, tight lacing.
A gentle aroma of fruity hops...although I've sensed more coming from some pale ales...may not be a good sign.
Definitely not a good sign...it definitely has some hops to it, but falls short of many IPA's, nevermind Imperials. It is not a malt bomb, but is more pronounced than the hops.
Finishes with some sourness and the aftertaste just kind of lingers there...not very crisp. The alcohol burn is very well hidden, but hits you in an almost spiced manner.
Mouthfeel is very thin for the style and the carbonation is a bit too high for me.
I can drink this one because while lacking as to what it should be, it is not a "undrinkable" beer...just something I will be thankful to have tried and move along to something else.

I got this as a single at UJ's on the Manatawny. I drank it in a pilsner glass.

Pours a hazy light amber with a 1/2 finger head of off-white bubbles. The head falls to just a ring around the glass, but there is still decent lacing. Carbonation looks soft.

Aroma is juicy grapefruit and pine needles, but not real strong. Hint of bubblegum. Malt is toffee candy, with faint notes of pineapples. Aroma fades rather quickly.

First flavor is hop bitterness, not real sweet, slightly caramel-y, and then a pretty big citrus grapefruit. This beer emphasizes hop bitterness over hop flavor. Aftertaste is bitter, semi-sweet, with alcohol coming through at the end.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with soft to medium carbonation. There is a pretty intense grab at the back of the throat from hop bitterness. Great burps! Finish is sweet and heat.

This is a comparatively understated DIPA. It's big, but not overly so, in every aspect, although it IS bitter. Recommended.

A very good and very different Imperial IPA. Everything about it is refreshing and perfect for a hot day. Pours light orange with a medium white head. Aroma is full of grapefruit and perfume, with some pine. The taste is very unique. Strong hops and citrus, but the malt takes the edge off of both without ruining the flavor. Very smooth and crisp finish.

Cloudy,glowing reddish orange color with a 1" white head that dissapated quite quickly leave some bits of webby lacing. Large chunky yeast particles suspended throughout the beer.

Good strong hoppy aroma piney and citrusy with grapefruit. Clean and inviting with some perfumy notes as well. Strong sweet malt notes with some booziness detected.

Strong sweet carmell tastes with good strong hops tastes as well. Well balanced with piney/resiny/leafy hop tastes,citrus reallt comes through at the finish. Doesn't taste boozy at first,but really comes through as the beers warms,knocking down the drinkability and taste downa notch. Like this served at a colder temp.

Full bodied,not too heavy with a nice tangy and juicy feel.Good drinkabily except for a touck too much syrupness and booziness as the beer warms to a room temp. A nice double overall,a good one if you don't mind some boozy tastes.

S: Malt bomb @ first, then as it warms the hops come out to say hello.

T: Decent. Average. Needs more hops to go with the sweetness.

M: Great considering the ABV. Not even sticky like the malt smell eludes to.

D: Easy Skankin'...right to the jail-cell! Watch your 6 when having more than one of these bad boys! You may have to double-down on the bail money.

Overall: I agree this beer is difficult to profile. As there are so many more formidable I2PA's to be partaken. I find this one to be floating listless with "paper anchor and lead sails"; however, that's no reason to slam it. It's tasty and hides that 9.5% well enough to get you incarcerated. If your on the hunt for a decent I2PA to get "hammered" for around 9bux, you found a winner. However, if your pocket-book is less constricted, go and spend the 20bux on 4 pliny's and enjoy each sip that much more.

Corresponding to what would be expected of an Imperial IPA, the nose on this one is heavy with the grapefruit scent that comes from massive amounts of hops. What sets this one apart, however--at least olfactorily--is the similarly large scent of sugary malts, which add a cane sugar aroma.

On the tongue, it's also immediately obvious that large amounts of hops and malt went into this brew, as not only is the ale quite bitter, but sugary as well, resplendent with caramelized brown sugars and dark fruit esters. There's also a nice thread of toasted grains just below the surface, along with a slightly-stronger-than-I-would-like alcohol tinge. (But at 9.5%, this isn't unexpected.) Both malt and hop flavors last throughout the mouthful, with the sugars peeling back at the end to reveal a nice oaky undercurrent. The aftertaste largely consists of hops, with slight hints of toasted grain.

Overall, this is a decent Imperial IPA, made better by the amped sugars, though I expect the power of the hops will turn off many.